Sunday, 30 November 2014

A Nottinghamshire lorry driver,
who killed a 91 year-old man who was crossing a busy west London road
after failing to check for pedestrians before pulling away, will be
sentenced in January for causing death by careless driving.Shane Redfearn, 33, of Lawnwood
Avenue, Elkesley, Retford was driving along Fulham Palace Road on
July 8 when he knocked over John Goulding, who died almost
immediately.Prosecutor Mr. James O'Connell
told Islewoth Crown Court: “Last summer this defendant was driving
a fully-laden truck with a trailer at 10.30am and Mr. Goulding had
just got off a bus and elected, not by the wisest way, to cross the
road.“He walked to the back of the
bus and was confronted with the side of this defendant's truck so
walked towards the cab of the stationary vehicle and stepped in front
of the cab.“The truck pulled away and the
driver drove over Mr. Goulding.“The truck moved a few yards
until a member of the public notified this defendant there was
someone under the truck and Mr. Goulding died within a few minutes
under the truck.

“This defendant should have seen
Mr. Goulding by using his mirrors properly. He has a number of
mirrors on that vehicle, including a mirror that looks right down in
front of the truck.“Mr. Goulding was knocked over
and killed, but despite him putting himself in that position he
should not have been hit and knocked over and killed.“Mr. Redfearn's driving fell
below the standard expected that day.”

Thursday, 27 November 2014

A
self-medicator, caught with a cocktail of drugs after a passer-by
spotted him snorting a suspicious substance in his parked van, has
been given over three months to try and kick his habit.Angus
Duncanson, 45, of Smenham Farm, Icomb, had cocaine, heroin, magic
mushrooms and cannabis on him, which police estimated to originally
have a street value of £1900.He
claims he needs the drugs to alleviate the pain of a decade-old
injury, but must now prove by March, next year he is on the road to
full recovery.Duncanson
appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates Court yesterday after previously
pleading guilty to four counts of possessing the drugs in Linden
Gardens, Bayswater, west London on August 17.Sentence
was deferred until March 25 and he was ordered to attend all
appointments with the North West Drugs Project, stay off drugs,
except those prescribed and bring with him his key worker to give
evidence of full compliance.After
admitting the offences earlier this month prosecutor Miss Louise
Burnell told the court: “It was 4pm when police were called to
Linden Gardens after reports from a member of the public of a man in
a van sniffing something.“The
police found the defendant in the van, along with several different
drugs.”Officers
seized two packages of cocaine weighing 1.1gms; a 2.22gm package of
heroin; 3.89gms of magic mushrooms and 380gms of both herbal and
cannabis resin.“Combined
the drugs had a street value, according to the police of one thousand
nine hundred pounds, but a lot of it was covered in mould so was
worthless,” added Miss Burnell.Duncanson
was arrested on suspicion he was a drug-dealer, but an analysis of
his mobile phone failed to find any evidence of “criminal activity”
and he was charged with simple possession.When
questioned by police the first-time offender admitted the drugs were
for his own use, claiming he had a fall ten years ago and suffered
chronic pain, which was alleviated by the use of cannabis and heroin.“He
said he smoked heroin on a daily basis and spends one hundred and
twenty pounds a week on drugs, using the money he received from a
house sale.”His
lawyer Mr. Mark Haslam told the court: “There is a variety of
drugs, but the amounts are small.”He
estimated the cocaine to be merely £37 worth, the heroin £100 and
the mushrooms £38.

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

Two teenage bully boys preyed on a
mentally-ill married woman over twice their age, getting her to drink
their urine and smoke curry powder in a cannabis joint, before one of
them sexually assaulted her on her own bed, a court heard today.The 43 year-old Hillingdon woman,
who is a paranoid schizophrenic who suffers psychotic episodes and
has an ongoing alcohol problem let the local lads into her home early
one morning while her husband was staying elsewhere after yet another
row.The Isleworth Crown Court jury
heard the young men have a history of tormenting the mentally-ill and
recorded incidents on their mobile phones of planning and
carrying-out such behaviour.Jamie Rhys Campin, 19, of Whitethorn Avenue, West Drayton and Connor James, 19, of Uxbridge
Road, Hampton Hill have both pleaded not guilty to two counts of
administering a noxious substance, namely urine and curry powder;
stealing a laptop and ring, worth £400 and causing an affray on a
day between July 5 and 14, last year.Campin alone has pleaded not
guilty to sexual assault by penetration.

Connor James

“I was not one hundred per cent
well at that time because I have a mental health problem and I did
not have any control of the situation,” she told the jury. “They
just walked in and I didn't want any trouble.“These people entered my house
early, at seven or eight in the morning and I don't understand why I
let them in, in the first place. In my head I believed these people
were friends of mine.“I don't understand why I didn't
throw them out. I was very vulnerable at the time.”The court heard a third mystery
man was present and the woman remembers two of them disappearing into
her bathroom.“I remember them walking out
with a plastic cup and they asked me to drink it and I drunk a bit
and realised there was wee in it and spat it out.“I was lured into my bedroom and
I don't remember being forced onto the mattress, but the person who
assaulted me was on top of me.“I was very scared at the time.
I was confused and I do not know if it was sheer pure fright or if I
was going along with it and not really knowing what was happening.“I remember my trousers being
undone. I don't know if I did it or he did. I don't think it was me,
in fact I know it wasn't.”She told the court she was not
sure if a second man was in the bedroom at the time, but had spent
his time in her house: “With his hands down the front of his
trousers.”Police later found mobile phone
footage of the woman being given a cannabis joint to smoke, which had
been laced with curry powder, the jury were told.

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

A lorry driver
killed a 91 year-old man, who was crossing a busy west London road,
after failing to check for pedestrian before pulling away, a jury
were told yesterday.Shane Redfearn, 33, of Lawnwood
Avenue, Elkesley, Retford, Nottinghamshire was driving along Fulham Palace Road on
July 8 when he knocked over John Goulding, who died almost
immediately.Prosecutor Mr. James O'Connell
told Islewoth Crown Court: “Last summer this defendant was driving
a fully-laden truck with a trailer at 10.30am and Mr. Goulding had
just got off a bus and elected, not by the wisest way, to cross the
road.“He walked to the back of the
bus and was confronted with the side of this defendant's truck so
walked towards the cab of the stationary vehicle and stepped in front
of the cab.“The truck pulled away and the
driver drove over Mr. Goulding.“The truck moved a few yards
until a member of the public notified this defendant there was
someone under the truck and Mr. Goulding died within a few minutes
under the truck.“This defendant should have seen
Mr. Goulding by using his mirrors properly. He has a number of
mirrors on that vehicle, including a mirror that looks right down in
front of the truck.“Mr. Goulding was knocked over
and killed, but despite him putting himself in that position he
should not have been hit and knocked over and killed.“Mr. Redfearn's driving fell
below the standard expected that day.”Redfearn has pleaded not guilty to
one count of causing death by dangerous driving.Trial continues...............

Monday, 24 November 2014

A sex offender, who as a teen
encouraged his younger neighbour to visit him alone to play
Scalextric and other games over three decades ago, sexually abusing
him by copying a Kama Sutra-style calender, has received three years
imprisonment.Barry Rosamond, 50, of Great Tree
Farm, Looe, Cornwall was aged fifteen to sixteen years-old and the
young boy between nine and ten during the period he preyed upon the
youngster, Croydon Crown Court was told.Rosamond was found guilty of four
counts of indecent assault; one count of attempted buggery and one
count of indecency with a child, occurred in Beckenham, Kent between
1978 and 1980.He was also ordered to sign the
sex offenders register for an indefinite period and received a
lifetime ban from working with children.“He said: 'Come around on your
own to play, don't bring the others,' “ the 44 year-old complainant
told the jury.The defendant initially encouraged
the youngster to touch him intimately, promising to give him £5.00
on the first occasion, but afterwards handed over £3.00 in change,
the court heard.“I went round there and and he
abused me many times. I use'd to see him as a father-figure. Maybe
that's why I never said anything.“I've managed to keep my head
up, but it's been difficult. He did this to me and I crumbled
mentally and I do not want to carry it anymore.“I'm sick and tired of it. It's
draining. He abused me many times.“You bury this in alcohol, in
drugs to block these images out of your head,” explained the
complainant, denying suggestions he invented the accusations to blame
someone for difficulties in his own life.“That's rubbish, absolute
rubbish,” he said, adding it was very difficult to come forward at
the time.“At that age you don't know what
is going on. You think you're just mucking around, but later I felt
dirty, so dirty and foolish.”He said Rosamond would produce a
wall calendar, which depicted silhouetted figures in various sexual
poses, which he would copy with the youngster.Five years ago the complainant
suddenly spotted Rosamond, who was visiting the area, as he walked to
his mother's home.“He smiled at me and when I went
into the house I was pacing up and down wondering what to do, but not
wanting to do anything crazy.“I put a note on his camper van
windscreen, which said: 'I don't want to see you again.' “

Saturday, 22 November 2014

An airplane drunk, who assaulted a
stewardess on a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain, was jailed for
four months yesterday.Jobless Keith Edward Hansford, 63,
of Knaresborough Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire was arrested after the
Airbus A330 landed at Heathrow Airport.He pleaded guilty at Isleworth
Crown Court to being drunk on the aircraft during the June 12
seven-and-a-half hour flight and assaulting a member of the airline's
staff.The court heard Hansford, who has
a heart condition lives on disability benefits.He was also ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge.

Friday, 21 November 2014

A female member of a notorious south London crime family, who have clocked-up over eighty-three convictions including murder and wounding, crashed into a bus full of passengers while three times the alcohol limit and without a licence and insurance after an all-day drinking-session.

Louise Sonnex, 40, knocked back rum in the morning and joined more friends in the afternoon, who helped polish off a dozen cans of lager, before jumping behind the wheel of a pal's car and careering into a busy road, where she struck the double-decker and bounced into railings, knocking herself out on impact.

Sonnex, of Etta Street, Deptford pleaded guilty yesterday to driving the blue Peugeot carelessly and with excess alcohol in her breath in nearby Evelyn Street, on June 22 and driving without a full licence and insurance.

She also pleaded guilty to possessing a small quantity of cannabis resin, was bailed until December 11 for a pre-sentence report and given an interim disqualification.

A charge of aggravated taking and driving away of the vehicle and causing criminal damage was withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Her brother, Dano 'Mad Dog' Sonnex, 27, is serving life imprisonment, with a forty-year minimum, for the gruesome murders of French students Gabriel Ferez, 23, and Laurent Bonomo, 23, who were stabbed a total of 244 times on June 29, 2008.

Her father, Bernard Sonnex, 60, has at least twenty-six convictions, including firearms and drugs, and has been to prison six times and her brother Bernie Sonnex Jnr., 41, has been to prison at least ten times for a minimum of thirty-four offences, including theft and aggravated burglary.

Prosecutor Miss Thandi Lubimbi told Bexley Magistrates Court: "It was 7pm when the defendant came out of a junction, without paying attention, and drove into the side of the bus and then crashed into railings."

Sonnex was seen hanging out of the car's door, having knocked herself out when her head hit the dashboard.

"There were passengers in the bus and a passenger in the vehicle and an off-duty paramedic attended to the defendant, who then left the vehicle and returned later."

Officers noticed her breath smelled of alcohol and she was arrested, later giving a reading of 105 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit is 35.

"The defendant did not have a licence and was not insured to drive the vehicle and when she was searched the cannabis was found," added Miss Lubimbi.

Sonnex has a criminal past to match her male relatives and has served time for the pub glassing of another woman and beating another woman with a golf club.

Her lawyer, who refused to give her name, told the court: "On the night before she had been drinking and when she woke up the next morning went to her friend Keith Jones's house and they both had drinks at 10am.

"She had a few rums and and the owner of the vehicle, Lisa Perry, pulled up and was invited into the garden where they all had drinks into the late afternoon.

"Lisa then invited them to her house and Miss Sonnex remembers having a roast dinner and more drinks and Mr. Jones remembers seeing a dozen empty cans on the table.

"She doesn't remember anything after that until the collision and waking up afterwards, but Mr. Jones says Lisa Perry was driving them home, but kept stopping to chat to friends and the third time she left the vehicle with the engine still running.

"Miss Sonnex was shouting at her to get back in the car and had moved across to the driver's seat when she panicked and the car accelerated and that's when the accident happened.

"She doesn't drive, she doesn't know how to drive and has had a provisional licence for years.

"She has a lot of issues in terms of mental health and has been diagnosed and is being looked at for bipolar and borderline personality disorder, depression and for a number of years abused drugs and more recently has misused alcohol."

District Judge Robert Hunter announced: "The public were put at considerable risk by her and of course she was uninsured."

Thursday, 20 November 2014

An obsessed stalker, fixated with ex-EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, repeatedly sent unwanted messages and gifts and constantly tried to meet the star - even visiting the grave of her murdered brother and penning fantasy love letters.

Paul Mason, 40, of Farley Road, Catford was convicted yesterday after the 31 year-old, who played Kelly Taylor in the BBC soap from 2001 to 2004, gave evidence from behind a screen at Bexley Magistrates Court.

She described Mason's behaviour as: "odd" and: "scary", particularly his references to having already bought her wedding dress for their marriage and vow to show up at the acting school for children she runs.

He denied, but was convicted, of stalking between January 1, 2013 and April 4, this year and was bailed until December 10 for a pre-sentence report.

Mason claims that as a victim of knife crime himself he was simply trying to support the actresses work with the Ben Kinsella Trust, dedicated to the memory of her 16 year-old brother, who was stabbed to death by three young men on June 29, 2008.

He turned up unannounced at a theatre she was performing at, a Trust open day event she was hosting, where he hugged her and the Trust's HQ, the Lions Centre, a leisure facility next to Millwall Football Club.

Brooke Kinsella

Mason left gifts such as CD's, oils, perfume and a ring at the locations and when police searched his home they found a quantity of expressive love letters devoted to the actress.

Islington-born Brooke told the court the first time she ever heard the name Paul Mason was in 2011 when the Home Office - who the Trust work with - contacted the police about troubling letters they had received about her from the defendant.

"I was told to be vigilant and was given his description and told to look out for him.

"I was performing at Bromley Theatre and the box office staff told me my friend had been looking for me and his name was Paul Mason. I was obviously worried because I'd been told to be vigilant about him.

"A couple of days later two actress friends were in the auditorium and he managed to get in and spoke to them, calling me: 'Pumpkin.'

"He contacted me on Facebook and Twitter and I received numerous messages on my phone and he would tell me my wedding dress was ready.

"I blocked him, but he set up new accounts and sent more messages such as: 'You will be my wife.'

Convicted: Paul Mason

"Sometimes they were complimentary and he would always refer to me as: 'Pumpkin'. It struck me as a bit odd and a bit scary and just seemed to escalate."

She was most concerned about his promise to show up at her True Stars Academy. "He said: 'I'll come down to see you and the kids.'

"I felt threatened from the moment he said he was coming down."

The only time Brooke met Mason face-to-face was at the Trust's open day in August 2013 at Millwall FC. "He came up to me and hugged me and said he had presents for me.

"I didn't look at the presents. I just wanted to get out of there."

Mason's lawyer Mr. Roger Hill told the court: "This is at the bottom end of the scale. His case is that he met the lady when she first auditioned to go on EastEnders at Elstree and was subsequently aware of what happened to her and was supporting her."

The defendant, who has a previous conviction for harassment, will also be the subject of a prosecution application for a restraining order to prohibit contact with Brooke.

District Judge Mr. Robert Hunter announced: "There are matters here that need looking into. In the light of his previous the court are considering custody.

"The defence have described him as eccentric, which is one way of putting it."

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

A Liverpool man, accused of
communicating threats of violence to a witness in a £30,000 civil
court case, appeared for the first time at Wimbledon Magistrates'
Court.David Hall, 47, of Wellington
Street, Waterloo allegedly told Ryan Elliott: “You have no friends
in Liverpool, drop the case or it will be more than your car next
time,” referring to paint-stripper being thrown on the vehicle and:
“Last warning, drop the case.”He gave no indication as to plea
on one charge of intimidating a witness in civil proceedings on
January 20 at Waterloo Business Centre, Southwark, namely verbally
threatened Mr. Elliott knowing he was a witness in civil debt
recovery proceedings, intending to cause the course of justice to be
obstructed.Hall was bailed to appear at
Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court on December 1 for a preliminary
hearing.

Tuesday, 18 November 2014

Former English Defence League chief Stephen Lennon - aka Tommy Robinson - has been convicted of flouting strict police conditions when the right-wing group marched on the East London Mosque last year.

The Metropolitan Police's decision to impose conditions "for fear of serious public disorder" was upheld by a High Court judge and the 600-strong EDL group were stopped 600 metres from the mosque.

At Hammersmith Magistrates Court on yesterday Lennon, 31, of Luton, denied, but was convicted of failing to comply with a condition at Old Gate Street, Whitechapel on September 7, namely failing to limit public speaking to thirty minutes.

He was also convicted of inciting a public assembly participant, namely fellow EDL demonstrators, to speak in excess of thirty minutes and inciting others to remain and listen.

Lennon was fined £100 on each count and ordered to pay £80 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

The EDL had challenged the police decision to stop them short of the mosque before a High Court judge, but failed and ended up being held near Aldgate East station, where they were confronted by anti-fascist demonstrators.

They had marched across Tower Bridge, intending to gather in Tower Hamlets, which has a large muslim population chanting and singing: "I'm English 'til I die," and: "England."

Similar nationalist groups from Germany, Poland and Finland joined the march and police made ten arrests, including Lennon and two other suspects for possession of a bladed weapon and a firework.

EDL's motivation for the march, they claimed, was to demonstrate against Tower Hamlets being governed by Sharia Law.

Monday, 17 November 2014

A Cheltenham man was caught with a
cocktail of drugs he claims he needs to alleviate the pain of a
decade-old injury after a passer-by saw him snorting an illegal
substance while parked in his van.Angus Duncanson, 45, of Smenham
Farm, Icomb, had cocaine, heroin, magic mushrooms and cannabis on
him, which police estimated to originally have a street value of
£1900.Duncanson pleaded guilty at
Hammersmith Magistrates Court to four counts of possessing the drugs
in Linden Gardens, Bayswater, west London on August 17 and was bailed
until November 26 for a probation report.Prosecutor Miss Louise Burnell
told the court today: “It was 4pm when police were called
to Linden Gardens after reports from a member of the public of a man
in a van sniffing something.“The police found the defendant
in the van, along with several different drugs.”Officers seized two packages of
cocaine weighing 1.1gms; a 2.22gm package of heroin; 3.89gms of magic
mushrooms and 380gms of both herbal and cannabis resin.“Combined the drugs had a street
value, according to the police of one thousand nine hundred pounds,
but a lot of it was covered in mould so was worthless,” added Miss
Burnell.Duncanson was arrested on
suspicion he was a drug-dealer, but an analysis of his mobile phone
failed to find any evidence of “criminal activity” and he was
charged with simple possession.When questioned by police the
first-time offender admitted the drugs were for his own use, claiming
he had a fall ten years ago and suffered chronic pain, which was
alleviated by the use of cannabis and heroin.“He said he smoked heroin on a
daily basis and spends one hundred and twenty pounds a week on drugs,
using the money he received from a house sale.”His lawyer Mr. Mark Haslam told
the court: “There is a variety of drugs, but the amounts are
small.”He estimated the cocaine to be
merely £37 worth, the heroin £100 and the mushrooms £38.

A
Blackfriars Crown Court jury, who cleared Ladjassa of causing death
by dangerous driving, heard Mrs Michael was rushed to St. Mary's
Hospital, Paddington at 5.00pm, but was pronounced dead two hours
later.

The
post mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple injuries
consistent with a road traffic collision.

Ladjassa
will also have to pass an extended driving test before he can receive
a full driver's licence.

Saturday, 15 November 2014

A company director and a
pharmaceutical dealer, accused of handling £1.1 million worth of
medicinal drugs stolen from a lorry nine years ago, have been
dramatically cleared after the prosecution was dropped nearly three
weeks before their Old Bailey trial.Vincent Quigley, 67, of 27
Daleside, Thornhill, Dewsbury and Kenyan-born Mahmoud Azizi, 56, of
Princess Court, Bryanston Place, Mayfair, who was extradited in
custody from Canada, were due to stand trial on November 24.Quigley pleaded not guilty to one
count of handling and one count of receiving stolen goods on or
before October 16, 2007, namely 1,620,000 Comtan tablets; 510,000
Lopressor tablets and 480,000 Femara tablets.The tablets, which had been stolen
in 2005, were traced to a warehouse in Yorkshire on October 16, 2007
by a private detective hired by the loser, Swiss-based Norvartis
International.Comtan is prescribed to patients
with Parkinson's Disease; Lopressor is for the treatment of high
blood pressure and Femara is for breast cancer patients.Canadian citizen Azizi, who was
extradited from Vancouver, pleaded not guilty to one count of
receiving stolen goods on October 16, 2007, namely medicinal products
belonging to Norvartis International.After the prosecution announced on
November 6 they would not be offering any evidence not guilty
verdicts were entered on all counts.

Friday, 14 November 2014

An executive with the television company behind The X Factor and American Idol was jailed for three years and four months today for defrauding his former bosses of over £224,000 to pay off two holiday homes in Portugal.

Ian Ousey, 51, who lives in a £1.9m detached six-bedroom house at in Prince Consort Drive, Ascot, Berkshire was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of FreemantleMedia Group (FMG) - which also produces Take Me Out and Grand Designs.

Father-of-two Ousey, a qualified chartered accountant, who now faces being struck-off, left the company in March and paid back the money as part of a £1.4m legal settlement, which included his former employers expenses.

It is said large amounts were paid to a holiday home developer in Portugal and to cover credit cards, vehicles, mobile phones, courier payments and all-expenses luxury trips to Brazil and Australia.

Judge Peter Clarke QC told him: "I have to sentence a chartered accountant of no previous convictions, who has pleaded guilty to the misappropriation of over two hundred and twenty thousand pounds by way of wholly bogus invoices to the company of which he was the chief financial officer.

"He's done, quite probably, irreparable damage to his career and he's likely to lose his position as a Chartered Accountant.

"There is also the destruction of his family life and self-respect and the respect he's held in by his spouse and children."

Ousey's privately-educated children are aged twenty and eighteen years-old.

Ousey pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position between October 30, 2008 and November 30,2012 in that while occupying the position of CFO in which he was expected to safeguard or not act against the financial interests of FMG he abused that position to make a gain, namely £224,754.

Ousey used his pension to repay the company, plus a £140,000 bonus due to him and there is no equity in the Portuguese properties.

Ousey's world came to an end after abusing his expense account and suspicious transactions, which also involved the company credit card as well as bogus invoices, were discovered in April, 2012 by Freemantle's Group Financial Director (GFD) Mr. Mark Riddlestone.

The criminal investigation revolved around eleven invoices Ousey created and a company he formed, Broadcast Research Consultants, which FMG paid, believing it was money owed to the legitimate Broadcast Research Ltd.

Ousey's lawyer Mr. Samuel Parish told Blackfriars Crown Court: "This man has kicked himself well and truly in the teeth, he's ruined his reputation in the profession, ruined his family life and himself financially.

"One can't imagine how a man can fall from such as height to where he is now. His house will have to be sold and we don't know if his marriage will survive."

The false invoice offence began after a holiday Ousey enjoyed with his wife when they decided to buy two holiday homes and missed a repayment.

"He had to pay for the development in instalments. There was a hiccup and they could not pay and everything had to be paid up or it would have been forfeited," added Mr. Parish

Ousey joined music company Audio Network - which specialises in music for film, television and video - in April and he has previously worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers, the RTL group, Pearson Television and was based in Monaco with Grundy Worldwide.

Thursday, 13 November 2014

A housekeeper, who worked for a couple at their exclusive mansion block, pinched £13,000 in cash, jewellery and other valuables - forcing her victims to buy back their own property from a local pawnbroker.

Raquel Villanueva, 47, of Leslie Road, Leytonstone pleaded guilty to theft from her employer, Nicholas True, between April 1and October 16 at Bryanston Court, George Street, Bayswater.

Prosecutor Mr. Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky told Hammersmith Magistrates Court yesterday: "Mr. True's wife noticed a large amount of jewellery was missing from the bedroom and other items were missing and there were no signs of a break-in.

"Their Transport For London Oyster card was also being used by somebody and had been topped-up in Leytonstone, where the defendant lives."

The couple's Harrods card also had a mystery £9,500 spent on it, but Villanueva denied knowing anything about this.

However, she did admit taking cash and jewellery, including Mr. True's expensive lighter, which he did not even know was missing.

"She admitted taking cash and taking a holdall and using both their Oyster cards and said she was broke and stressed.

"She said she had sold the property at a pawn shop and had receipts at home.

In her purse Mr. True found £1,000 cash and a £500 Selfridges gift card, along with his business card and a Harrods rewards points card.

Villanueva was taken by mini-cab to her home, where she tried to hide one of the receipts, but handed over the lighter she had stolen.

At an Earl's Court pawn shop Mr. True had to pay £2,850 to recover his own items and then called the police, who arrested first-time offender Villanueva.

Her lawyer told the court: "She's pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and this is clearly a serious breach of trust. She's deeply remorseful and it is difficult to ascertain the reason she did what she did."

The magistrates bailed Villanueva to appear at Southwark Crown Court for sentencing, announcing: "This was a breach of a high degree of trust and the thefts took place over a sustained period."

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

A
maintenance worker was caught on CCTV helping himself to the contents
of a customer's purse when called out to repair the ceiling of a mews
house.Ashley
Gallant, 32, of Eagle Way, Hampton Centre, Peterborough picked on
a family who had previously suffered a theft at their central London
home and had installed cameras.He pleaded
guilty at Hammersmith Magistrates Court to stealing £60 cash from
Sohana Jisooh at an address in Devonshire Mews West, Marylebone on
October 27.“He is a
maintenance worker and was given keys to the property and had
permission to be there to work on the bedroom ceiling,” explained
prosecutor Mr. Oliver
Schneider-Sikorsky. “There had been a previous theft of one
thousand pounds so CCTV had been installed.“When
it was observed Mr. Gallant was seen removing cash from the purse and
the management company he works for and the police were called.“At
Paddington Police Station he admitted everything and the money was
recovered.”Gallant's
lawyer Mr. George Otchere told the court: “This is a very
unfortunate case and he had been working for this company for fifteen
years.“He
regrets what happened, he just didn't think and in that moment took
the money.“He
has lost his job and feels sorry for what happened and has shown
remorse.“He's
unemployed now, he's not working and has a large family and wife a
wife expecting.“It
was not a sophisticated offence. It was in the heat of the moment and
he did not think.”Gallant
was bailed until November 24 for pre-sentence reports.

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

A Barclay bank employee, caught in
an online police sting, has been convicted of child sex offences
involving two girls, aged ten and twelve years-old, he wanted to
abuse.Michael Ray King, 38, of Victoria Road, Poole, was working in a branch of the bank located in
the town before going home to his flat and spending the evening
drinking heavily and cruising the net to chat with fellow
paedophiles.He was remanded in custody at
Isleworth Crown Court and will be sentenced on December 19 for
arranging the commission of a child sex offence between November 10,
2013 and March 12, this year and attempting to engage in sexual
activity in front of a child on March 5.The jury heard King, a first-time
offender, indulged in sick online conversations with an undercover
officer, known as 'Jez', on internet forums entitled 'Incest' and
'Jailbait.'The defendant discussed meeting
'Jez' and his two young daughters and having sex with them and
encouraged 'Jez' to abuse the girls while chatting online.King also sent 'Jez' pictures of
“scantily-clad” young girls and gave his phone number to the
officer.The jury also found the defendant
pleasured himself in front of his computer's webcam, believing 'Jez'
was forcing the girl to watch.King told the jury he was acting
out fantasies for sexual kicks and never believed there were any
young girls watching him via his webcam or in danger of being abused.He claimed to be depressed and
stressed and spent long evenings alone, often drinking five cans of
lager a night and smoking cannabis.

Monday, 10 November 2014

A policeman was caught with old
ammunition and a CS gas cannister during a search of his home by
officers investigating a thirty year-old rape allegation.PC Russell Yardley, 61, of Manor Court, Weybridge, Surrey who serves in the Metroplitan Police
Service, had three bullets, which were British military standard
rounds until the mid 80's, and nine pistol-only bullets.He pleaded guilty at Isleworth
Crown Court today to two counts of possession of
ammunition, without a firearms certificate, at his home address on
August 14, last year.He also pleaded guilty to
possessing a weapon for the discharge of a noxious
liquid/gas/electricity, namely the CS gas cannister.Yardley received a twelve-month
community order and the items will be forfeited and destroyed.Officers arrived at his home with
a search warrant and found the bullets in a bag at the rear of his
garage, which also contained some old corroded firearms.There were three 7.63x51mm Nato
Calibre bulleted cartridges and nine RG 9mm parabellum bulleted
cartridges.A defence application to find the
search unlawful due to alleged breaches to comply with the Police and
Criminal Evidence Act, namely a failure to show and leave a copy of
the warrant with Yardley, was rejected.It is not believed there was any
further action relation to the rape allegation, which the complainant
claimed occurred at their home address three decades ago.

Sunday, 9 November 2014

The former principal of a Barnardo's children's home, who made a young girl's life a misery, taunting her that her mother didn't want her, making her the subject of cruel insults and washing her mouth out with soap is starting a three and a half year prison sentence.

The girl's ordeal, which also included being stripped naked to be roughly scrubbed by the defendant and having her face pushed into urine lasted between the ages of six and eight years-old when her parents sent her to the charitable home because they could not cope.

She tried to take her life, aged ten, but eventually came forward at the age of fifty-three to give evidence to a Croydon Crown Court jury, which convicted Hickman of one count of child cruelty between February 27 1968 and July 1969.

"This is a complete and utter breach of the position you were in and how anyone can behave like that to a little girl is inconceivable," Judge Warwick McKinnon told Hickman, who still maintains his innocence.

"You have shown absolutely no remorse, you are still in denial and your conduct has ruined this woman's life. She's attempted suicide on more than one occasion."

Llanfair was opened as a girl's home in April 1946, then became mixed and closed in 1969 and demolished soon afterwards.

Llanfair: House of Horrors

The victim, who later returned to the care of her family, told the court: "He told me time and time again that my mum didn't want me," adding Hickman deliberately cut off all her hair on her final day to add to her humiliation.

She overdosed on her mother's arthritis tablets and made more suicide attempts later in life.

Jailing Hickman, who in 1975 received four years for twelve counts of indecently assaulting Barnardo's boys, judge McKinnon added: "You were cruel to a six year-old girl routinely, month after month.

"You began verbally abusing her on the very first day she set foot in the home and were angry and aggressive.

"You ordered her to strip in the washroom and roughly scrubbed her body and washed out her mouth with soap, telling her you were going to wash the filth and lies out of her.

"You told her she was ugly and left her naked in the washroom, you pushed her face in urine after she wet the bed and when you force fed her and she brought it up you made her stand in the corner with her hands above her head.

"You hit her with a belt on her naked thighs and told her that her mum was coming to visit on her seventh birthday when you knew she was not coming, that was particularly psychologically cruel.

"On the very last day at the home you cropped her hair short, cut all her hair off."